Power plant assembly



May 17, 1949. I

Filed May 16, 1942 "A. G. FORSYTH POWER PLANT ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 gywwwtm iffy/(8)710 in/l4 mmsyr/l,

May 17, 1949. A. e. FORSYTH 2,470,155

I POWER PLANT ASSEMBLY Filed May 16,1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 1949- A. a. FORSYTH 2,470,155

POWER PLANT ASSEMBLY Filed May 16, 1942' 5 Sheets-Sheet s 52 v I} I 0 a6 6 4n fl 6'6 I id 46?:

Maw/ ua GRAY/{17M rams-y;

May 17, 1949. A. G. FORSYTH I 2, 70, 55

POWER PLANT ASSEMBLY Filed May 16, '1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 May 17,1949. A. G. FORSYTH F OWER PLANT ASSEMBLY 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ju-ucniot,

Filed May 16, 1942 matitially various t Patented May 17, 1949 POWERPIZANT ASSEMBLY 'itedi'Ha'yes England 'AppliozrtionMa y 16, 1942, Serial -No. 4435231- (Cl. 24 4 G0') This invention relates to poweriplantunits .for aircraft and the. like, and. more. particularly. it relates-to a.- poweriplant .unit which, whileadapted for'mass production, is. capable of ready use, with various gearing arrangements to drive I the. propeliers, in zpractieal ly anvtype-of; aircraft;

The. principal objector; the present invention isito provide suchi-adpoweri plaht'unit for. air? craft. andthe like, and which may be vused singly or. in groups .so arranged. that Lth'e. aircraft .presents the niinim'umaamo in fiheadfresist'ance.

Another object "oflthe invention is to provide a power. plant unitiwith which .multi-engine relitypes .-'of faircraft and... he 'like.

As further object 'of ."tli'e invention is "the; provision of Va pbwerplant'unitwhich can be menufactured with mass. production methods and which .canbelusedis'inely or in grolib'sinivarious combinations to drive-"contra. riotating'propefl'e'rs.

The invention hasfforstili another object the provision. of a. power plant "unit" which: can be mass prouuced as such newnrcrris so designed as to belater-fittediwitn various types'a'nwan rangements of gear housings 'and superchargers.

These and" other objectsofitheinvention will be more apparent from-the-o11owing description and c1aims-when read" in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; in which:

Figure 1 is a front view offa power" plant unit constructed iir accordance with the" invention.

Figure 2: is dicta]?! -vievs'r'of"tHe-'unit:

Figure 3 is a; side"e1ev.tion-ofthe unit.

Figures" 4 to-"'9, inclusive;- are diagrammatic plan views .fshowing' ancient-type ofaircraft arrangements 'in'wiiich tneower- 1antunits of the invent'iiar'imay beempiovedi Figure 10 is a sectional "view of a siniple type ofgearingsuches fishsed: for eitainpl'e, with. the arrangement'ofiFigure iorat each end of'the arrangement'"ofTigure5i Figure nns a"vertiealfsectiofiaiview or gear ingwhich' can be used-'wi'tn the arrangement of Figure 6; V

Fi ure--12*i's'-aherizofitai setion of the gearir'rg us dqnthe -arrangemenebf sugar "7.

Frgiires 14' to 1-9, inclusive; sh'ow diagramyp'e's arse charger" arrange-- ments which"een-peenectec rough us'e 'of the power 1 unitsmenstructee accords-1g to the invert-- tion.

Figure 20 is a sideselevation of anextension member-applied. tether-front oft-the power; unit to accomplish the addition of superchargers at the front as shownfor exampleinrthearrange.- ments of Figures: 1 4, 16 17 and -18. V

W ith specific reference :to Figuress 1; 2-4 and 3, it willbe noted thatitheseo-figuresshow various views of a main power plantnunitiA constructed in accordance withwthe. invention and which v is adapted to be. produced by, mass production methods. The units A =wi1'1jbe; described aspen sistingof two semeontainea 12-ev1inaen internal combustion engines mounted on a common crank case, although obviously the motors of the may be provided. with a different. number "er cylinders. 7 As shown,eacfimotcrizis inthe form of a flat l2-cylihdr;rn'otorwitfi the cylinders vertical. The co'inpleteiunit.AiormsianiH-type motor..

The two crankshait'svriin inioppositeudirections and: their front arrest-ands; ,xtndingrrom the unit, are splined to rcei'vevariouswtypes of gear.- ing, some of which wil'l'be described hereinafter;

Eachipower unitrAmis not provided .withiattachedgearingflfor.thencrarnkshaft endsul and 6, but the front of 'the is provided vwith (a, .facing 8"to which various types of'gear contai ninglhousingsrmay beheasilysecured so that-the gearingkwill be engaged and drive'nfbvthe.fo'rv'vardiyv extend.- ing crankshaft endsll Each inotor 2 oia u'nitiAis also provide'd. with a side facing ID at the rear side of the crankcase. These facings l0-are. -ad a pted tofreceive various forms of superchargers-B (such as-shown for example in broken lines iniFigures1,- 2, and 3) which maybeomechanicaliy driven, suchas-Jay the bevebgears l2 v (Eig ure 3),=m-ountedon the rear ends of the crank .shafts;v

Each power: unit? Aimayralso :be provided l with trunnions' l3vor otherrsupport'means; and'also with the usual auxiliaries;such-as ignitionmeans, fuel pumps, and-thedike It should be; notedthat' each' unit': A is :adapted for production with mass; production methods and comprises a:completevpowerplant1-with:two motors, the front end of the unit terminating in a fiangedfac'inguwith .theisplinemcranle's'haft"ends extending forwardly and-,z'a'vail'a'blei to take; the reduction gearing or'stlie likeiinzhousing'st which can be detaohabl y" suredto: the-facing; It should further 'beQIIEiteQ-thateabir motor 2: of 'a unit is provi'dedawith asside' faieing-lrearwardly disposed on the crankeasefandeto -which'facings superchargers may-sdetachably secured: so as to be driven through gearing operatively connected with the rear end of the crankshafts.

Manifestly the manufacture of power units so comprised is greatly simplified, and it should also be equally clear that power units so produced are capable of use in any number of .various propelling arrangements. Consequently such a unit comprises a standard unit capable of universal use and interchangeable in all types of aircraft.

Some of the multitude of various uses of this standard unit will now be described.

Figure 4, for example, shows diagrammatically how a single unit A may be disposed to drive contra rotating propellers.

Figure 5 shows how two such units A may be disposed on an aircraft, rear-to-rear, with the forward ends of the crank shafts driving contrarotating propellers. To accomplish these arrangements, use may be made, for example, of a gear housing such as that indicated as l4 in Figure 10. Such a housing is adapted to be detachably secured to the facing 8 of the motor unit A by any suitable means.

The housing l4 contains a bearing 46 at its front end which receives the concentric shafts l8 and 20 for driving respectively the propellers 22 and 24 (Figure 4). Outer i8 has a gear 28 mounted circumferentially thereof and which engages a gear 28' mounted on a shaft 30 the inner end of which is adapted to extend over the splined end. 6 of the motor crankshaft when the housing [4 is secured to the facing 8 of the unit A.

The inner shaft 20 at its inner end is adapted to be received in the socket I in the unit A. Shaft 20 is provided with a circumferential gear 32 rigid therewith and adapted to engage with a gear 34 on a hollow shaft 36, one end of which is disposed over the splined end 4 of the crank shaft and the other end of which is mounted in a journal 38 supported from the wall of the housing l4.

It is manifest that upon operation of the unit A the shafts l8 and 20 will be rotated (through the gear described) so as to drive the propellers 22 and 24.

Housings such as 14, and the gearing therein contained, may also be quite simply produced by mass production methods, and obviously can be easily attached or detached to any standard unit A.

Figure 6 shows an arrangement employing a single unit A with extension shafts 40 and 42 running forwardly in spaced relation from the crankshaft ends 4 and 6. The gearing system for such an arrangement may be like that shown in Figure 11, in which the unit-A is provided with a housing 44, adapted to be secured to the front facing B of the unit, and provided with journals 46, 48 for extension shafts 46 and 42. The inner ends of these shafts 46 and 42 are engaged by the splined crank shaft ends 4 and 6. The outer ends of the shafts 40 and 42 are journalled in a housing 50 secured to the aircraft.

Shaft 40 is provided with a gear 52 which en gages gear 54 on hollow shaft 56 which drives one of the propellers. Shaft 42 has a gear 58 which engages a gear 64 rigid with an inner shaft 62 for driving the other propeller.

This arrangement shown in Figures 6 and 11 is adapted particularly for instances in which it is desired to dispose an aircraft cannon, or

4 the like, between the shafts 40 and 42 centrally of the unit A, so as to shoot through the propeller hub, in this instance through hollow shaft 52.

Still another arrangement is shown in Figures 7 and 12. In this arrangement the power unit A, disposed centrally of the aircraft, is adapted through gearing to drive propellers mounted on the wings of the aircraft. As shown in Figure 12, the unit A has a housing 64 secured to its front facing 8. Bevel gears 66 and 68 secured to the splined ends 4 and 6 of the crank shaft ends engage, respectively, bevel gears 16 and 12 mounted on laterally extending shafts 14 and 16. At their outer ends (Figure 7) shafts I4 and 16 have bevel gears 18 which engage bevel gears mounted on the propeller shafts 82.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate further arrangements, each employing two units A with a common gear housing 84 therebetween, the gearing being such as to drive contra rotating sets of propellers. Figures 8 and 9 are generally similar except that one shows a pusher type arrangement and the other a tractor type. In each instance the gearing used may be like that illus trated in Figure 13.

In Figure 13 the two units A are disposed in spaced relation, front to front, and between them is secured a housing 84 containing gearing. In this arrangement the splined ends 4 and 6 of each unit A have bevelled gears mounted thereon. Splined ends 4 and 6 on the left hand unit, each have bevel gears 86, engaging respectively bevelled gears 88 secured on the ends I of laterally extending shafts 90. Splined ends 4 and 6 of the right-hand unit A each have larger bevelled gears 92 engaging bevelled gears 94 mounted on the ends of laterally extending shafts 96. The shafts 96 are hollow and are disposed concentrically surrounding the shafts 90. At the outer ends of the concentric shafts and 96, as indicated in Figures 8 and 9, similar bevel gear arrangements are disposed to drive concentric shafts 98, I00 disposed at right angles and extending to the propellers.

With this embodiment of the invention it is thus possible to drive two or more sets of propellers on each wing of the aircraft, with each propeller of a set being driven from a separate motor 2 of a power unit A.

In all the arrangements disclosed, it will be obvious that the invention provides multi-engine reliability. Thus even in the simpler forms such as that of Figure 4, should one motor 2 of the unit fail for any reason, the other motors of the unit will continue to drive its propeller. In those instances where several units are employed it is evident that even greater reliability is provided.

It has been previously indicated herein that each motor 2 is provided with a side facing in to which may be detachably secured a supercharger B. These superchargers carry gearing (not shown) which may be driven through gears connected with the rear ends of the motor crank shafts. With power units so constructed it is possible to obtain a number of different supercharging arrangements. These are diagrammatically shown in Figures 14 to 19, inclusive, which will now be described.

Figure 14 shows a power unit A with each motor thereof provided with a supercharger B. (Only one supercharger shows in the figure.) Each supercharger is detachably mounted on the unit at the side facings l0 (see Figures 1, 2 and 3) and may be mechanically driven by the rear end eam-ass of the -"crank shaft through'a bevel gear such as thatiindi'cated at'I OZ in Eigure3. with' suth an arrafigement it ispossible to have single on' two fsped stages. I I

The arrangement-according to'Fi ure -I5 lisi partiallysimilarto that of Eigure 14 but in addition o the superchargersdisposed-*afithe sides of the 'h'iotoi's ofthe-power unit, one" or more suprcharg'ers' B may be mountedat the front of the irnitjfso asto provide a; two 'spee'd system capable andor single speed, two stage.

- *In lorder to mount superchargers at the from of'the unit it isnecessaryto add to =the fr6nt mg s of thepower' unit ng as shown in- Figure with a throttle'controlled'carburetor 9 l5 which is connected to the exhaust conduit I ll of the supercharger B" for that motor. Consequently, each motor of the unit may run supercharged by supercharger B, or supercharger B may also be brought into operation. Any suitable arrangement may be employed for actuating the throttle valve in carburetor H5 when the change over is made.

The supercharger arrangement of Figure 16 also employs crank shaft driven superchargers mounted on the side rear facings iii of each motor of the unit. In this instance the unit may be provided with a down draft carburetion arrangement having a screened opening H8 and the supercharger is controlled by a hydraulic clutch l 20. A unit so constructed can run at normal speeds with normal aspiration provided through the screened opening H8, or the superchargers may be clutched in, when circumstances require.

The arrangement of Figure 17 is similar to that of Figure 16, but high altitude superchargers B are added at the front of the unit on each motor. These are connected through conduits to the intake. Both in this arrangement and in that of Figure 16, suitable valves I22 are provided in the conduits leading from the superchargers, which valves may, according to known arrangements, be actuated simultaneously with the clutching and declutching of the superchargers and the closing and opening of throttle H8.

With the arrangement of Figure 17, it is therefore possible to run each motor normally aspirated, or to clutch in supercharger B, or if necessary also to clutch in super-charger B In the latter case, the superchargers at both ends will supply air to the centrally disposed carburetors.

In the arrangement according to Figure 18 a two-speed mechanical system is provided (as in Figure 14) and, in addition thereto, exhaust turbo-superchargers B are employed. A shown in Figure 18 these superchargers B have a manifold I24 leading from the motor exhaust which drives the superchargers. The compressor delivers air through conduit I25 to carburetor 5, connected to supercharger B. Exhaust gases from superchargers B are discharged through pipe I26.

; an extension housing PM. "The sitles of-'-this-"' fi ifial ly as' sen in i igure 19, two units A are joined front to front and each unit -isprovid'ed iiiith sur'ierchargers "-(as""is the-"one unit in "Figure 16) The down 1 draft carburetors-"of all "the motors ere "connected to receive the air from these superehar ers; and "arealsdcon- .nected by"a ma*nifold 128 so that'when ide'sir'ed B"-='(-atthe right inFigure-IQ) 1 'o' the motor' om the unitA": at the 'ft ofFlgure 1'9). 'In p1a'ce' o'f some' off'tlie inechar iically driven supercharge'rsior to supplent them, 'exha'ust turbo-superchargers (not wn) may be" employed as in the arrangeent cr rigure =18. 'The arrangement -of Fig ure 9 can thus run-normally aspirated, or with io'us ones-or"'all-of -the-' superchargers to int divers conditions demanded for flight.

It"will"be"noted"in "this arrangement that sev- "eral throttles IZZare "disposed in the manifolds. Tlieseare suitably connected-with the clutching "devioestnotsliownf for the various superchargers so as toprovide "for "various types of operation. For example, "each "unit "A may operate "alone and underoo'ndition's'of' normal aspiration. "iEach 'unitinay'operate .alone' 's'uperchargedby its attaehed superchargers. "Both' units may be operatedsimultaneouslymnder (conditions "of normal aspiration. Both 'units may be operated simultaneously with one mormallyaspirated and the 0 other supercharged. Finally, both units may be "operated"simultaneously while both are supercharged.

It shou1d"?be' 'rfiari'ifest irrom the above that units constructed in accordance with the invention are adapted for use with superchargers which 'imaytbe easily attachedto make almost every "possible typeof supercharger'sy'stem.

As indicated in the recited objects of the invention, and as will now be more apparent from the preceding descriptions, the invention makes it possible to provide airplanes with high power units so designed as to be capable of use in such manner as to reduce the head resistance of the,

craft to a minimum.

Moreover, power units as described may be mass produced as a standard unit which can, as shown, be used to drive any number of different propelling systems.

While a preferred embodiment of the power unit has been described and illustrated, it should be understood that changes in structure and arrangement may be made without departing from the basic concept of the invention.

I claim:

1. In an aircraft having a fuselage and a wing on each side thereof, a propulsion arrangement, comprising, a pair of propellers carried by each wing, each pair being mounted for rotation about a common axis, power means for driving each pair of propellers, said power means comprising two identical power units, each unit comprising two internal combustion engines having a common crankcase terminating at one end in a facing, the ends of the crankshafts of said engines extending through the faced end, said power units being disposed in longitudinal alignment with the faced ends toward but spaced from one another, a gear housing disposed between said units and detachably secured to said facings, gearing within said gear housing and operatively connected with the crankshaft ends of each of said units, two pairs of shafts each connected with said gearing and each pair extending laterally from said gear housing, and means connecting 7 each of said pairs of shafts to each of said pairs of propellers.

2. In a aircraft having a fuselage and a wing on each side of the fuselage, a propulsion arrangement, comprising at least one pair of propellers carried by each wing, the propellers of each pair being mounted for rotation about a common axis, two power units disposed in said fuselage, each power unit comprising two internal combustion motors having a common crankcase with the crankshaft ends of said motors extending through one end of said crankcase, said crankcase end having a facing for detachably receiving a gear housing, said power units being disposed in longitudinal alignment with the faced ends adjacent but spaced from each other, a. gear housing disposed between said units and secured to said f-acings, pairs of concentric shafts extending from said gear housing laterally to each pair of propellers with each shaft of a pair operatively connected to drive a propeller, and gearing within said gear housing connecting respectively the crankshaft ends of one power unit with one shaft of each concentric pair and the crankshaft ends of the other power unit with the other shaft of each concentric pair, whereby each motor drives a. single propeller.

ARCI-HBALD GRAHAM FORSYTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 968,127 Cloud Aug. 23, 1910 1,394,870 Thomas Oct. 25, 1921 Number Number 8 Name Date Hall Aug. 4, 1925 Sundstedt Feb. 18, 1930 Valentine Aug. 28, 1934 Cashman Dec. 1, 1936 Trebucien June 29, 1937 Waseige June 14, 1938 Menasco Nov. 21, 1939 Gadoux et al May 21, 1940 De Seversky Oct. 29, 1940 Goodman Dec. 17, 1940 Ware Jan. 21, 1941 Bugatti June 10, 1941 Menasco et a1 May 26, 1942 Chilton et al. Aug. 18, 1942 Friedrich Sept. 29, 1942 Nallinger et al Dec. 15, 1942 DeMichelis Feb. 9, 1943 McDonnell, Jr. Feb. 1, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Italy Jan. 8, 1937 Italy Mar. 28, 1936 France Feb. 24, 1920 Great Britain July 17, 1941 France June 3, 1922 France Feb. 25, 1935 France Jan. 20, 1937 OTHER REFERENCES Janes All the Worlds Aircraft for 1935, pages 18d and 19d. 

